Apple Pay for Transit: Now Accepted in Singapore, NYC Testing Soon, Chicago and Portland to Integrate Fare Cards

Apple Pay is launching or gaining expanded functionality at transit systems in additional cities throughout 2019, starting with Singapore today followed by Chicago, Portland, and New York City later this year.

apple pay transit card
‌Apple Pay‌ is now accepted on all forms of public transit that accept Mastercard credit and debit cards in Singapore, including buses and trains, enabling convenient tap-to-pay functionality with an iPhone or Apple Watch. Singapore's transit agency expects to add support for Visa cards in the second half of 2019.

New York City will pilot ‌Apple Pay‌ on a couple of lines this spring and then roll out the functionality to additional lines throughout the rest of the year, according to TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino. The MTA appears to already be in the process of installing contactless card readers at turnstiles, with a test phase "coming soon."


Chicago's and Portland's transit systems already accept ‌Apple Pay‌, but CTA and TriMet riders will be able to add their preloaded Ventra and Hop fare cards to the Wallet app later this year and take advantage of pre-tax commuter benefits, according to the Chicago Tribune and the Willamette Week.

The payment process is similar to using ‌Apple Pay‌ in stores. Depending on the ‌iPhone‌, that means double-pressing the home button or side button, authenticating with Touch ID or Face ID, and holding the ‌iPhone‌ near the card reader. Apple Watch payments are also activated by double-pressing the side button.

The blog Ata Distance suggests that Ventra and Hop cards will support Express Transit, meaning that riders won't need to authenticate with ‌Face ID‌, ‌Touch ID‌, or a passcode, and won't need to wake or unlock their device, to pay. Express Transit is currently limited to transit systems in China and Japan.

Singapore and New York City would join a handful of cities with transit systems that already support ‌Apple Pay‌, including Chicago and Portland as mentioned, Beijing, Shanghai, London, Tokyo, Moscow, and Vancouver, Canada.

(Thanks, Chris!)

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
iOS 26

Apple This November: iOS 26.2 Beta, Rumored New Products, and More

Thursday October 30, 2025 12:42 pm PDT by
Tomorrow is Halloween, and then November is upon us. Below, we outline what to expect from Apple next month, as the slower holiday season approaches. Apple is expected to kick off November by releasing iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1. With beta testing now wrapped up, the updates will likely be released this Monday, November 3 or Tuesday,...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Revamped Siri on Track to Launch Next Year

Thursday October 30, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook today said that a more personalized version of Siri remains on track to launch at some point next year, with the new set of features expected to debut on the iPhone as part of iOS 26.4 in March or April. "We're also excited for a more personalized Siri," said Cook, on Apple's earnings call for the third quarter of the 2025 calendar year. "We're making good progress on it,...

Top Rated Comments

zorinlynx Avatar
86 months ago
"that means double-pressing the home button or side button, authenticating with Touch ID ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/touch-id/') or Face ID, and holding the iPhone near the card reader."

This takes too long. I know it seems fast, but I've been in NYC and ridden the subway quite a few times and it's a constant flow of people through the turnstiles, each person swiping their card through as they're walking.

If there's any kind of delay, like having to satisfy FaceID or wait for TouchID, it's going to slow things down and people will get pissed. Nevermind that TouchID doesn't work with gloves on and NYC has winter, and FaceID doesn't always read correctly.

If I were a New Yorker I wouldn't bother with using my phone and just get the Contactless MetroCard equivalent they're no doubt going to offer.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexandr Avatar
86 months ago
"that means double-pressing the home button or side button, authenticating with Touch ID ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/touch-id/') or Face ID, and holding the iPhone near the card reader."

This takes too long. I know it seems fast, but I've been in NYC and ridden the subway quite a few times and it's a constant flow of people through the turnstiles, each person swiping their card through as they're walking.

If there's any kind of delay, like having to satisfy FaceID or wait for TouchID, it's going to slow things down and people will get pissed. Nevermind that TouchID doesn't work with gloves on and NYC has winter, and FaceID doesn't always read correctly.

If I were a New Yorker I wouldn't bother with using my phone and just get the Contactless MetroCard equivalent they're no doubt going to offer.
you're overthinking it - almost every day there is some dumbass blocking a turnstile while trying to locate his/her metrocard. they will just be replaced by the dumbasses who fail to unlock their phone prior to reaching the turnstile.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kybldmstr Avatar
86 months ago
I would hope you wouldn't need to authenticate to get it to work. Would be alot easier if you just hold phone to reader, phone realizes it's a subway terminal and loads that specific card, and boom you're in. I could see alot of people fumbling around getting the right pass up on their phones, standing there authenticating with FaceID, then scanning, and causing a backup. IMO the ticket wouldn't really need to be secured behind FaceID and should pop up automatically when presented at a subway terminal.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AdonisSMU Avatar
86 months ago
"that means double-pressing the home button or side button, authenticating with Touch ID ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/touch-id/') or Face ID, and holding the iPhone near the card reader."

This takes too long. I know it seems fast, but I've been in NYC and ridden the subway quite a few times and it's a constant flow of people through the turnstiles, each person swiping their card through as they're walking.

If there's any kind of delay, like having to satisfy FaceID or wait for TouchID, it's going to slow things down and people will get pissed. Nevermind that TouchID doesn't work with gloves on and NYC has winter, and FaceID doesn't always read correctly.

If I were a New Yorker I wouldn't bother with using my phone and just get the Contactless MetroCard equivalent they're no doubt going to offer.
You could prepare it as you are walking up like before you get there. Then just hold it up there.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
haruhiko Avatar
86 months ago
You have a minute leeway from activating Apple Pay until it times out; so, by rights, no one should be fumbling around at the point of touching in/out to ride transit.

Samsung Pay have the option to set up a ‘transport card’ without the need to use biometric authorisation so I hope, in time, Apple follow suit.
Apple doesn't need to follow suit. It already has Apple Pay Transit Card feature in China and Japan long time ago.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4254126 Avatar
86 months ago
London really needs Oyster card integration in Apple Wallet (for season passes).
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)